First Day of School is Wednesday, well at least thats the Orientation! We will be meeting Gabriel's new teacher for the year and the first official day is Thursday. This past Wednesday was the first official full week being on the Risperidol and I have to say we were very apprehensive at first with the possible side effects (metabolic syndrome, diabetes, weight gain) but Gabe is like a new boy! He no longer bounces off the wall like a super bouncer in a rubber room! He is more focused and as a result his language is flourishing. So far we have had nothing but Pro's. But we will keep you updated!
0 Comments
Over the last two months or so it has been difficult coping with Gabriel's increasing aggression. He was on adderall shortly after the traditional school year ended and weened off of the Tenex. This was to try and abate some of his energy and hopefully make it easier to redirect his aggression. The adderall seemed to have the opposite effect on him and he was weened down. He will be going for a blood draw tomorrow which will be stressful enough. He needs a bunch of things like (lipids,glucose,insulin) done. The next medication he will try is the one we have been trying to avoid for a while because he is so young. Rispiridone is a very scary medication for a child whom is only three. But Gabriel's impulse control ( urge NOT to run into streets) is so low he has become a danger to himself. We are getter more desperate than ever for the help of a service dog to help perhaps with some of his impulses.
Today was the last day of School! Gabe's going to start his summer non-regression course on July 9th. He I'm sure will have a blast! We will meet with a behavioral therapist this wednesday for an intake for outpatient services to work on the new behaviors that have been giving him a rough time. Can't wait for some fun in the sun! Lately in the last few weeks Gabriel's energy level has been through the roof! His teachers report needing ALOT of redirection and prompting. This week has been particularly tough with him, he constantly wants to pick on his brother, taking toys, being combative and pushing and shoving him over and over. His energy level also seems to be much higher than we are used to and he is becoming increasingly more difficult to control. Increasing tenex frequency/ dose has not seem to had an effect on his Behaviour only makes him drowsy, there does not seem to be a time of day he is worse. Recently it just happens to be that any little thing might set him off, this morning he didnt want the shirt I picked for him and he had a full blown melt down, again this afternoon when his brother was napping he wanted his brother to get up and when I simply told him Ayden was sleeping he had another meltdown. He has started screaming NOO! and clenching his fists at his side, than, usually ends up trying to hit the adult he is upset at. At home with his brother he often antagonizes him, stomping on him, running over pushing, or slapping him. There has been no changes to home life and all of his teachers and aids are the same, So what has triggered the change other than actual age progression is a mystery. Gabriel's progression in this direction is concerning and after speaking with his Dr she suggested a diagnosis of disruptive behavior disorder, this way he will be able to receive outside services from Mass health now that his behavior has reached the point of a safety concern for A local Vendor has supplied us with top quality Vinyl to place some very important sponsorship for 4PawsforAbility and Autism Awareness on our Vehicle! We are so excited! We will be posting pictures and videos as progress is made so check back soon as be on the look out locally in the Salem Ma area for our Car! So life has been a little crazy here, and things have changed a lot, in a lot of ways. First of all Gabe has been in school for almost three months now and will be getting his review soon. He takes the bus home every day which he says is " His Bus" and on Fridays he takes it both ways. Often he falls on asleep on the ride home as it takes and hour to get from school to home because he is the last stop! on weekends he still naps because with out a short nap our little Gabriel gets a little Cranky from all that GO GO GOING! He has become super intuitive and really have come to enjoy certain things like Ruby Gloom and many educational Apps on the Ipad which he often plays with everyday. He even has his own leap pad Explorer which he has become pretty good at navigating ( though my ipad is always his FIRST choice) He and his brother have begun to play more frequently together at home rather than parallel play, though at school him and his brother prefer to play with other playmates! We are so excited for his progress and only hope to see the same acceleration in the future months!
Gabe will be placed in an integrated classroom with peer partners. For those of you that are unfamiliar with an IEP this means that Gabriel will be in class with some children like himself, with a deficit or even an ASD diagnosis as well as children around his age without any diagnosis that will be models for him to interact with. The classes are based on ABA learning criteria and he will have more intensive services for OT once a week, Speech 2 times a week, and stay 2 hours longer a day for services, and also attend school on fridays which his brother Ayden does not do. He will be joining his brother Ayden and hopefully he will do great! More updates to come!
Gabe has learned some cool new things like how to sing Scooby Doo where are you, and pretty much eat anything with Jelly on it. His Language skills are leaps and bounds from where the were before and his motor skills as always get him in trouble! cross your fingers!
Gabriel's IEP (Individualized Education Program) meeting is this monday so stay tuned to hear what the school has to offer our little Gabe for services! Its been a rough last couple of weeks we tried bumping up his Tenex to 1/2 mg to try and slow him down a bit but all we seemed to et was a child who was just as active but burnt out and had a shorter fused faster. so we weaned him back down to the 1/4 a mg and should be speaking with the Neuro to understand if this medication really is the best one? We hope to get our ducks in a row before school!
|
AuthorMom of two, very active boys. My Husband and I work together everyday facing the new challenges of raising our two boys. Our oldest is a typical 5 year old (is there such a thing?) and Gabriel our 4 year old is anything but Typical. He makes sure to keep us on our toes! Archives
April 2014
Categories |